262 DRY-FARMING 
tions of plant parts may be observed as a direct result 
of varying the amountof available water. In general, 
then, it may be said that the roots of dry-farm crops 
are well developed; the parts above ground some- 
what dwarfed; the proportion of seed to straw high, 
and the proportion of meat or nutritive materials in 
the plant parts likewise high. 
The water in dry-farm crops 
One of the constant constituents of all plants and 
plant parts is water. Hay, flour, and starch contain 
comparatively large quantities of water, which can be 
removed only by heat. The water in green plants is 
often very large. In young lucern, for instance, it 
reaches 85 per cent, and in young peas nearly 90 
per cent, or more than is found in good cow’s milk. 
The water so held by plants has no nutritive value 
above ordinary water. It is, therefore, profitable for 
the consumer to buy dry foods. In this particular, 
again, dry-farm crops have a distinct advantage. 
During growth there is not perhaps a great difference 
in the water content of plants, due to climatic dif- 
ferences, but after harvest the drying-out process 
goes on much more completely in dry-farm than in 
humid districts. Hay, cured in humid regions, often 
contains from 12 to 20 per cent of water; in arid 
climates it contains as little as 5 per cent and seldom 
more than 12 per cent. The drier hay is naturally 
